[Drink inside the box.]
Brotte Création Grosset Cairanne 2021
Brotte Création Grosset Cairanne 2021 Price: $19.95Channel: LCBO Vintages Producer: Maison BrotteCountry: FranceRegion: Provence (Rhône)Appellation: Cairrane AOC Grapes: Grenache, Syrah, Mourvèrdre, CarignanAlcohol by Volume: 14.5%Sugar Content: 3 grams per litre The Brotte family hails from Châteuneuf-du-Pape. The Grosset vineyard, if my French literacy is assez fonctionnel, was acquired relatively recently through marriage of the current, 4th generation, vigneron. New though the Grosset parcels may be to the family, they include about 60 acres of 100 year old Grenache vines. I…
Bertani Sereole Soave Classico 2023
Bertani Sereole Soave Classico 2023 Price: $19.95Channel: LCBO Vintages Producer: BertaniCountry: ItalyRegion: Veneto (Verona)Appellation: Soave Classico Grapes: GarganegaAlcohol by Volume: 13%Sugar Content: 3 grams per litre With the rehabilitation of Soave as a serious white wine has come the inevitable price increases. This, in turn, has fostered in me some scepticism towards any bottle of Soave I see for under $20. The 2023 Sereole Soave Classico has restored my faith that there is still perfectly delicious, affordable, every day…
M. Chapoutier La Ciboise Luberon 2022
M. Chapoutier La Ciboise Luberon 2022 Price: $14.95Channel: LCBO Vintages Producer: M. ChapoutierCountry: FranceRegion: ProvenceAppellation: Luberon AOC Grapes: Grenache and Syrah (%NA)Alcohol by Volume: 14.5%Sugar Content: 3 grams per litre Chapoutier doesn’t reveal the precentage split between Grenache and Syrah in La Ciboise. My guess is it’s close to 50-50: look for cherry, then blackfruit and a touch of white pepper. It’s long way from L’Hermitage to the Luberon, and this is a rich and juicy wine, with silky…
Hatzimichalis Alepotrypa Assyrtiko 2023
Hatzimichalis Alepotrypa Assyrtiko 2023 Price: $18.95Channel: LCBO Vintages Producer: Domaine HatzimichalisCountry: GreeceRegion: Atalanti ValleyAppellation: Atalanti Valley PGI Grapes: AssyrtikoAlcohol by Volume: 14%Sugar Content: 2 grams per litre Here is a sophisticated white from the middle of Greece at a very welcoming price. Assyrtiko is best known as the white grape from the windswept volcanic island of Santorini, where it tends to make very lean mineral whites. This Hatzimichal version shows a reserved richness, with citrus acidity and a bit…
Gaba Mencia 2020
Price: $19.95Channel: LCBO Vintages Producer: Telmo RodriguezCountry: SpainRegion: GaliciaAppellation: Valdeorras DO Grapes: MenciaAlcohol by Volume: 12.5%Sugar Content: 2 grams per litre The tasting notes on the LCBO website for this red wine from the Northwestern corner of Spain, are all about juicy bright cherry red fruit. I agree, but a few years later, there’s more going on like rose aromatics and a tar or leather note. Those notes point to a comparison with Pinot Noir, but I’m getting more…
Malivoire Estate Chardonnay 2023
Malivoire Estate Chardonnay 2023 Price: $21.95 ($23.95 after April 27) or $21.00 plus deposit, taxes, etc.Channel: LCBO Vintages or direct from Malivoire Producer: Malivoire Wine Co.Country: CanadaRegion: NiagaraAppellation: Beamsville Bench VQA Grapes: Chardonnay (62%), Chardonnay Musqué (38%)Alcohol by Volume: 13%Sugar Content: 3 grams per litre I nearly didn’t recommend Malivoire’s latest Estate Chardonnay because I thought I had just written it up. I looked it up and sure enough I did write about the Estate Chardonnay… it was in this post almost exactly…
Garzón Estate Pinot Rosé de Corte 2024
Garzón Estate Pinot Rosé de Corte 2024 Price: $17.95Channel: LCBO Vintages Producer: Bodega GarzónCountry: UruguayRegion: Punta del EsteAppellation: Uruguay Wine Grapes: Pinot Noir (50%), Merlot (30%), Marselan (20%)Alcohol by Volume: 13%Sugar Content: 2 grams per litre I went to the Halpern Premier Cru Portfolio Tasting this week (much more on this to come). There I tasted a 2023 rosé from Louis Jadot made from Pinot Noir grown in Marsannay. It was a kind of Platonic ideal of a Burgundy red turned…
Bachelder L’Ardoise Chardonnay 2023
Price: $25.95Channel: LCBO Vintages Producer: BachelderCountry: CanadaRegion: NiagaraAppellation: Niagara Peninsula VQA Grapes: ChardonnayAlcohol by Volume: 13%Sugar Content: 3 grams per litre I’m not sure how he’s managed to do it, but Thomas Bachelder has slipped one of his celebrated boutique Niagara Chardonnays into the LCBO for under $30. The man is clearly a wino democrat, as the Ardoise is in direct competition wuth fancy local whites priced upwards of twice this… including some that he makes himself. More Montrachet…
La Ferme du Mont Première Côte Côtes du Rhône 2022
Price: $19.95Channel: LCBO Vintages Producer: Les Domaines du MontCountry: FranceRegion: Southern Rhône ValleyAppellation: Côtes du Rhône Grapes: Grenache (60%), Syrah (30%), Mourvèdre (10%)Alcohol by Volume: 14.5%Sugar Content: 3 grams per litre Stéphane Vedeau makes some of the Southern Rhône Valley’s more prestigious wines, at Châteauneuf and Gigondas and the puts the same attention to detail, balance and finesse into his entry level Côtes du Rhône Première Côte wine. This must be one of the best value reds in Vintages…
Pecchenino san Luigi Dogliani DOCG
Pecchenino san Luigi Dogliani DOCGPrice: $23.95Channel: LCBO Vintages Producer: PeccheninoCountry: ItalyRegion: PiedmontAppellation: Dogliani DOCG Grapes: DolcettoAlcohol by Volume: 13.5%Sugar Content: 4 grams per litre If I live to be one hundred years old, and if I am served a glass of Dolgiani on my birthday, I wouldn’t be surprised to learn from one of my wine loving descendants that Dolcetto had taken over from Nebbiolo as Piedmont’s most sought after grape. “Ah well,” I will say, “this is probably…
Famille Perrin Signature Côtes du Rhône 2021
Famille Perrin Signature Côtes du Rhône 2021 Price: $19.95Channel: LCBO Vintages Producer: Famille PerrinCountry: FranceRegion: Southern Rhône ValleyAppellation: Côtes du Rhône Grapes: Grenache, Syrah (% not disclosed)Alcohol by Volume: 13%Sugar Content: 3 grams per litre The Perrin family makes one of Châteauneuf-du-Pape’s most famous wines, Château de Beaucastel as well as one the world’s supermarkets’ most famous wines, La Vielle Ferme (a.k.a. the Chisken Wine). This easy drinking organic CdR falls somewhere in between with a straight forward juicy…
Gérard Bertrand Réserve Spéciale Viognier 2023
Gérard Bertrand Réserve Spéciale Viognier 2023 Price: $16.95Channel: LCBO Vintages Producer: Gérard BertrandCountry: FranceRegion: LanguedocAppellation: Pays d’Oc IGP Grapes: ViognierAlcohol by Volume: 13%Sugar Content: 2 grams per litre Let this Viognier open up and air out by pouring a glass 15 or 20 minutes before consuming. Or just get into it and percieve how the fruit and florals become less shy as exposure to oxygen loosens it up. When it does, look for a racy, peach driven white with…